The Ministry of Culture yesterday announced a subsidy program to encourage extended-reality (XR) creations inspired by Taiwanese cultural elements.
Applications for the program are to open on Monday next week until March 1, the ministry said.
The program is part of the Cultural Kuroshio Current plan to promote Taiwanese art, publishing, cultural creativity, audiovisual works, cultural technology and cultural diplomacy, it said.
Photo courtesy of the Tainan Bureau of Education
The aim of the program is to encourage the integration of technology and local cultural elements to produce innovative XR creations that have the potential to spread to the world, it said.
While Taiwan boasts a technology industry that serves as a “sacred mountain protecting the country,” hopefully Taiwanese culture would become “the Kuroshio Current that brings warmth to the world,” Minister of Culture Shih Che (史哲) said.
Taiwan is one of the leading players in the global XR creation ecosystem, producing works that shine at major international exhibitions, which have become another stage for the world to see the nation, Shih said.
The ministry proposed the first large-scale subsidy program for XR creations to generate more energy in the application of technology to culture, he said.
The program is open to Taiwanese companies, colleges and universities, and groups, with three categories for creations, the ministry said.
Submissions for the “Concept Creation” category need to include a prototype and videos showing what can be expected in the completed work, it said.
The “Production” category requires a prototype that can demonstrate the concept and a completed work of no less than 10 minutes, it said.
The “Interactive” category accepts entries that are market-oriented and can either be a prototype demonstrating the concept. or a half-completed or completed work of no less than 10 minutes, it said.
The maximum amounts that would go to winning applications in each category are NT$3 million (US$95,024), NT$6 million and NT$12 million respectively, it said.
The completed works in all three categories have to be viewable via a head-mounted device, and can also include interactive elements, 360-degree videos and immersive experiences, it said.
Works that showcase Taiwan’s culture, cultural landscape, cultural venues, history and art are preferred, the ministry said, adding that cooperation with international partners is also encouraged.
If a subsidized work is shortlisted or wins an award at specified international events as a Taiwanese entry by June next year, its creators can apply for airfare subsidies for up to three people to attend the event, it said.
The events that qualify for the airfare subsidy include the South by Southwest Festival in Austin, Texas, the NewImages Festival in Paris, the Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival in South Korea, the Tribeca Film Festival in New York City and the Venice International Film Festival in Italy, it said.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), spokeswoman Yang Chih-yu (楊智伃) and Legislator Hsieh Lung-chieh (謝龍介) would be summoned by police for questioning for leading an illegal assembly on Thursday evening last week, Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) said today. The three KMT officials led an assembly outside the Taipei City Prosecutors’ Office, a restricted area where public assembly is not allowed, protesting the questioning of several KMT staff and searches of KMT headquarters and offices in a recall petition forgery case. Chu, Yang and Hsieh are all suspected of contravening the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法) by holding
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by
RSS